How to Make Miso Salmon
Updated: Oct. 31, 2023
If you're looking for a quick and nutritious dinner, give this miso salmon recipe a try. It's easy, flavorful and packed with healthy ingredients.
It’s impossible to have too many salmon recipes. This miso salmon is a little out of the ordinary, so it’s a great one to add to your repertoire. Its sauce is made with a delicious combination of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey and miso. Don’t know much about miso? Read on to learn more.
What is miso?
Miso, which likely has its roots in ancient China, is an important part of Japanese cuisine. At its most basic, miso is soybeans fermented with a fungi called koji (Aspergillus oryzae) until it becomes a thick and savory paste packed with umami flavor. Although the soy version is the most common, miso can be made out of lots of different grains and legumes, including brown rice, barley, adzuki beans and even chickpeas.
White miso is fairly mild and a little sweet, having only been aged a few weeks. Red miso, on the other hand, may be aged for years and has a richer flavor. Yellow miso is somewhere in the middle.
Many co-ops and healthy food stores carry miso—look for it in the refrigerated section. If you can’t find it where you live, look for it online from producers such as Rhapsody Natural Foods and South River Miso.
Choosing Salmon
Sourcing awesome seafood isn’t always easy, so check out our guide to buying salmon to find out all the deets! I like Faroe Island salmon for its clean taste and good ethical rating. For this recipe, you’ll be looking for 6-ounce fillets. Top loin and second-cut pieces will both work perfectly.
Lots of excellent fish is frozen at sea, so don’t sweat it if the salmon at your grocery store isn’t in the fresh case: often, the freshest fish is frozen fish! If your store has a seafood department, don’t hesitate to ask the folks behind the counter for their recommendations.
Miso Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions
Directions
Step 1: Make the marinade
In a small bowl, whisk the first five ingredients until smooth.
Step 2: Prep the salmon
Place salmon in a large shallow dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper. (You’ll be adding some other salty ingredients in the form of miso and tamari, which is why the recipe only calls for a smidgen of salt). Pour miso mixture over salmon. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 3: Cook the salmon
Place salmon, skin side down, in a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.
Here’s our full guide on how to cook salmon.
Step 4: Broil
Preheat broiler; broil until fish just begins to flake easily with a fork, two to five minutes.
Miso Salmon FAQs
How do you prevent the miso salmon from burning under the broiler?
Make sure that your rack isn’t too close to the broiler to give the salmon a little bit of distance from the heat. While you’re broiling, keep a super-close eye on the oven (if yours has a light, you could turn it on and watch the action). Check the salmon after 2 minutes and decide if it needs longer.
What do you serve with miso salmon?
Japanese side dishes are a natural complement to this recipe. My go-to starch would be a bowl of sticky rice drizzled with sauce from the pan. These refreshing soba noodles would also be an excellent accompaniment. For veggies, try a cucumber salad or some spicy edamame.
Want dessert? Make your own mochi doughnuts, or try one of these stellar Japanese treats.
How long does miso salmon last?
The best fish is a fresh fish! I try to eat leftover miso salmon within a day or two. One excellent thing about this recipe is that the leftovers are great cold, so add to a noodle bowl or salad the next day. You can also tuck some of the salmon into an omelette.
If you’re going to reheat the salmon, cover it in foil and put it in a 300° oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
How else can you use miso?
Once you have a jar of miso in the house, there are dozens of ways that you can use it. Miso soup is probably the most well known use, but miso is also great in salad dressing and brings a lovely umami note to this maple-miso sweet potato casserole. If you love ramen, make the miso version. If you need a noodle dish that’s a little bit quicker, check out this TikTok-famous miso pasta.
